Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin is right where he likes to be, in the headlines. He revealed Dalian Wanda will spend $16 billion in Hunan province building malls, theme parks and various other things. Also of note, homebuyers are bailing on deals in Hong Kong because of the new stamp duty and China Investment Corporation unveiled plans to step up its overseas investments. Keep reading for all of today’s headlines.
Wanda to Invest $16 Billion in Tourism and Mall Projects in Hunan
China’s Dalian Wanda said that it will spend some RMB120 billion in southwest China’s Hunan Province, through a combination of tourism, mall and sports investments. The figures emerged as Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin signed an agreement with the Changsha municipal government.
Its Changsha Wanda City resort, to cost $8.8 billion (RMB60 billion,) will be the second Wanda City to be built in central China following Nanchang Wanda City in Jiangxi. Wanda said that it would create a world-class vacation destination and enhance what it called “China’s Entertainment Capital.” A further 15 shopping malls will account for a further $7.35 billion (RMB50 billion) of investment. Read more>>
Buyers Abandon Hong Kong Property Contracts As Stamp Duty Bites
A growing number of Hong Kong’s property buyers have defaulted on their agreements and forfeited their deposits, as a November 5 increase in stamp duty shows effects. Four transactions involving seven apartments valued at a combined HK$55.4 million had been cancelled, according to the government’s website.
Wheelock Properties, which closed the deal last week on Asia’s most expensive apartments, reported two defaults at its One Homantin project. One buyer signed the contract to buy Flat B on the 17th floor for HK$10.93 million, while another agreed to purchase Flat F on the 11th floor for HK$10.1 million. Both buyers didn’t proceed to complete their purchases, the website showed. Read more>>
NY Developer Sells Manhattan Buildings To Chinese Firm For $30M
Slate Property Group sold a pair of contiguous Chelsea rental buildings for $29.5 million. The properties at 222-224 West 21st Street contain 23 apartments combined over 20,000 square feet. The buyer is an unidentified Chinese investor making its debut in New York with this purchase.
Slate had bought the two buildings for $16.75 million in 2014 and fully renovated them. Tenant activists and local politicians accused Slate of illegally trying to evict the buildings’ rent-controlled tenants at the time. In September 2014, six remaining tenants at the buildings staged a rally against alleged “unconscionable harassment” by Slate. Read more>>
China’s CIC To Raise Overseas Investment
China Investment Corporation (CIC), the sovereign wealth fund, is stepping up its overseas investment, focusing on targets closely tied to the country’s economic development. Qi Bin, CIC’s deputy general manager, revealed the move, while speaking at the private equity firm Hony Capital’s annual general meeting in Shenzhen on Monday.
State-owned CIC was established in 2007 to diversify China’s foreign exchange holdings with registered capital of US$200 billion. It now manages over US$810 billion assets including US$200 billion of overseas assets. Read more>>
Keppel In Deal To Acquire Frankfurt Data Centre For S$116.8m
Keppel Land’s data centre arm has entered into a real estate and asset purchase agreement to acquire a data centre in Europe’s key Internet exchange of Frankfurt for a purchase consideration of 76 million euros (S$116.8 million) with Alpha Data Centre Fund
This marks the first acquisition for the Alpha DC Fund since it achieved first closing in July 2016. The Alpha DC Fund is managed by Alpha Investment Partners. Upon the expected completion of the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2016, the Alpha DC Fund and KDCH will own 60 percent and 40 percent interest in the data centre respectively. Read more>>
Filipino Giant SM Stepping Up China Expansion
Property giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. may accelerate its growth in China by considering shopping mall acquisitions in Fujian province, a departure from its earlier strategy of building malls from scratch.
SMPH director Hans Sy said the group was still looking for expansion opportunities in China but land banking had become more expensive. Sy said SMPH was still continuing its expansion in Asia’s largest economy, where there were six operating SM shopping malls, with another one in Tianjin set to open by this year. Read more>>
Genting Singapore Abandons Jeju Casino Stake in Favor Of Japan License
Genting Singapore is walking away from its casino joint venture on South Korea’s Jeju Island as it gears up for a possible integrated resort license application in Japan.
The casino operator announced over the weekend that it is selling its 50 percent stake to its joint venture partner, Hong Kong property developer Landing International Development Ltd., for $420 million. Read more>>
Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter for headlines as they happen.
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